Newcastle fake contact lenses seller fined £2,500

Zahra Gillani had told the court she believed she was selling authentic lenses

A woman who sold "extremely dangerous" fake contact lenses she sourced from a "notorious" Chinese website has been fined £2,500.

Zahra Gillani bought the lenses from Alibaba, which her trial at Newcastle Crown Court heard was well-known for advertising fake items.

The 31-year-old saw it as "an easy way to make money", the judge said.

A jury last week found her guilty of three counts of selling and one count of possessing counterfeit goods.

She was also convicted on a fifth charge of applying labels identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trademark.

Gillani sold the lenses through the Alluring Lenses business page she ran on Facebook with many marketed as brands including Freshlook Colorblends and Freshtone.

'Should've known better'

Passing sentence, Judge Amanda Rippon said she believed Gillani had not known the lenses were counterfeit but described her as "irresponsible" having given "little thought" to checking their authenticity or that of the website she used to buy them.

She added Gillani "should've known better" given she worked in pharmaceutical sales - a job she has now lost following her conviction.

Investigators who raided her home in Gowland Avenue, Newcastle, in July 2018, found packets of lenses, cardboard boxes and sticky labels.

With defects such as air bubbles, expert witnesses told the trial the lenses were "an accident waiting to happen".

'Devastated'

Having bought them for about £1.75 per pair, she sold them on for £15 despite not being registered with the General Optical Council as an optician or dispenser.

She told the court she had been unaware they were fake and "very often" wore them herself.

The court heard Gillani was "devastated" by losing her job and that it was unlikely she would be able to find a new role in the industry.

She must also pay a victim surcharge of £170, and the lenses and accompanying solution will be destroyed.